If we weren’t sure before today, then we definitely are now; Sydney, after a crushing 50-point win over a hapless St Kilda, are officially back.
The Swans’ season looked dead and buried after their 0-6 start to the year, with their lack of pressure, poor foot skills, and general lack of appetite for the contest seeing them lose match after match.
And while they racked up comfortable wins over Brisbane and North Melbourne, most put that down to the quality of their opposition rather than a turnaround in their own form.
St Kilda, with five wins from their last six, would present a different challenge. But as it turned out, the Swans treated them with disdain, breaking the game open in the third term after a hard-fought opening half, and then sinking the boot in with a percentage-boosting last term.
From the first bounce through to the last, it was pressure, pressure, pressure from the Swans. The Saints were barely given a second to compose themselves before a swarm of red and white descended upon them, and whether it resulted in a turnover or a stoppage, it was always the Swans who benefitted.
Josh Kennedy and Dan Hannebery were superb all day in midfield, finishing with 35 and 30 touches respectively, and Lance Franklin reaped the rewards of their hard work with four late goals to drive more nails into the St Kilda coffin.
While they may have only laid 48 tackles, it felt like more, as the Saints were constantly under pressure from the word go.
And on the few occasions they managed to break through the Swans and set up their attacks, a Sydney defence bolstered by the return of Dane Rampe kept them at bay, with the Saints’ forward trio of Tim Membrey, Nick Riewoldt and Paddy McCartin well held, and goals at a premium all day.
As good as the Saints have been in recent weeks, today, they were horrendous. Their trademark run-and-gun approach was suffocated by the Swans’ pressure, and they were simply unable to adapt to it.
They were forced into a possession-style game simply to keep the Swans at bay, and when that happened, their suspect skills by hand and foot resulted in turnover after turnover.
Too often, the Swans were able to swarm numbers back when the Saints were pressing, and then get goals from the rebounds with St Kilda unable to match them running the other way.
Jack Steven tried hard all day, as did Jack Billings and Dylan Roberton, while Nathan Brown was terrific on Franklin early before fading late, but there were few others winners for the Saints.
While the Saints were awful, there were forced into it by the Swans, in a performance reminiscent of the Sydney of old.
With three wins on the trot now, it would take a brave pundit to tip against them giving the finals a big shake.
Who would have thought that just three weeks ago?
Sydney 18.10 (118) defeated St Kilda 10.8 (68) by 50 points at Etihad Stadium.
GOALS
Sydney: Franklin 4, Papley 2, Hannebery 2, Cunningham 2, Newman, Kennedy, Hewett, Towers, Hayward, Tippett, Reid, Rohan.
St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Membrey 2, Gresham 2, McCartin, Roberton, Acres.
BEST
Sydney: Kennedy, Hannebery, Newman, Lloyd, Papley, Mills.
St Kilda: Steven, Billings, Roberton.
INJURIES
Sydney: Cunningham (foot).
St Kilda: Newnes (concussion).
Mark
Guest
This is the Bloods football that Ive been waiting to see all year. Great tackling pressure that kept the ball in the front half. I wonder if they can sustain this against Hawthorn though. Some really poor marking by Rohan and some poor ball handling by Towers always remind me how inconsistent the skill level is with in the best 22. Cunningham is great in spurts, but never a 4 quarter player. I think he had earned his spot and bit unlucky to be out for 6 weeks. Who do we pick to replace him? Do we put Florent in to give him more experience, or give K. Jack the spot if he recovers in time for his hip injury? Maybe Daniel Robinson gets his spot back since injury in Round 1 and had a good outing in the reserves?
RichardLoooooong
Guest
Completely Agree with what you're saying. The priority should be to retain Jones and Reid. Both have stated they don't want to leave. But we've heard that before from Mumford & Mitchell. But money talks..... - We should never have let Mumford leave. - We should never have let Mitchell leave. - There will be blood on the streets if Jones (future leader of the club) leaves. He's the embodiment of Bloods footy. Hard to see him leaving the club. I've been watching him alot and he, Mills & Heeney have all really stepped up when it comes to leadership on the park. Mills probably needs to work on his body language a bit when things don't go as well. But that's all part and parcel of being a younger player who plays with his heart on his sleeve. - AJ is a favourite son and would be good to give him one more year. Especially after what he's been through. But how much more time do you give him? You would think the minimum expectation was for him to play reserves before he got another contract offer.
bloodspirit
Roar Rookie
Am posting here for the first time because RedandWhiteOnline is down it seems. Who knows for how long? I need another outlet for my fix. Horrie, I agree with a lot of your first post and little of your second. It is folly to say Swampy and Laids will be delisted at year's end. At the least, they are worthy depth players. Marsh could be better than that. While I agree it is likely that Macca won't be back in 2018, Kizza is contracted until the end of 2019 and unless he sustains a dramatic injury I can't see him retiring this year. It is more likely that he will return to form and the best 22 (albeit not the peaks he achieved in years gone by). Towers is also far from being de-listed right now. Indeed, these past 3 weeks he has been doing enough to thoroughly deserve his place in the team. He is a tease and it remains unclear whether he will ever deliver on his potential - so far he has not, except in glimpses and patches, but if he keeps his current form that assessment will change. At his best he is best 22 and overall he is doing just enough to keep a place on our young list. As for describing Pink as "chubby", where does that come from? He is listed as weighing only 85kg which is not heavy for a 193cm forward (Paddy McCartin is 1cm taller and 10kg heavier). I can't see Pink debuting this year but I have been loving his work in the Twos. He didn't have his best week against the Students but he works really hard, gets into good positions, makes good decisions and is a good kick. I think he will improve when he can bulk up a bit and build a better tank. Overall this week's outing was impressive and encouraging. Between losing to Carlton and Saturday I had been very doubtful we could make finals but now it is looking much more hopeful - still not easy. Agree we will need to win 10/13 matches to be sure of a spot but I think, if we do, our percentage will be good enough to get into finals. That is a very big ask but not beyond us. Right now I reckon it's nearly 50/50. How we go against the Dogs in Round 12 will be telling. What's more, if we do make finals, the pre-finals bye will be a boon for all the 5-8 ranked teams. This week I liked the games of a lot of our 'fringe' players like Newman, Towers, Hayward, Harry C, Hewett (I wouldn't really call him 'fringe' any more myself but I know others do) and Sinclair. Together with our midfield leaders, Joey, Hanners and Parker standing up, this led to an excellent performance. It also means greater depth when players like Kizza, Macca, Naisy and Robbo return to the team (assuming they can even win back their spots ahead of the incumbents and challengers like Florent, Aliir, Dawson and others). Loving having Papley back in the team too. His energy and hardness is exciting and infectious. Hopefully after starting the year so poorly we won't become complacent any time soon. Really, really looking forward to putting the Hawks to the sword this week!
Sydneygirl
Guest
Good summary of the game Tim. Pressure was certainly the key. Now w need the keep going.
Horrie
Guest
The maths are pretty tough from here. The injury gods will continue to influence outcomes. I think they would need to go 10-3 from here. 13 should be a lower eight placing, not 12. I think that the evenness of the first third of the season will break up. Carlton, the Hawks, 'Brians', GoCo and Collingwood will continue to deteriorate and lose an average of 75% of games against opposition teams above them on the Ladder. The Dons and Tigers, sadly for their diehard fans, will continue to fall off the pace. This means the W Coast, Port, Crows, Giants, Cats, Dogs, Freo, Dees and Saints can be expected to pull away. One useful plus for the Bloods is their percentage which is now over 100% (unusual for a team 3-6). Personally I think it is a bridge too far. This means there are a few injured ageing Swans and a couple in the NEAFL who will not play too many more games unless there is yet another spate of injuries. K Jack and McVeigh are in their last seasons as father time is ringing his bell on their ageing bodies - at best cameo roles and last game of the season send offs can be expected. Harry Marsh and Laidler are great triers but both butcher the ball and are not great decision makers. There is no accident that both regularly played during our 0-6 start. I do not expect either to be on the list at year's end. Those 4 will head a clear-out. If he can get back on the park it would be great to see Alex Johnson play a few games, irrespective of how well he plays. Everyone hopes this is the case and he is retained. Others on the clear out list are potentially Towers, B Jack, Rose, Leonardis. When the maths becomes too difficult, expect more games for Ollie Florent, Jordan Dawson, Allir and debuts for Maibaum, Cameron and off the rookie list - Fisher, O'Riordan and Pink (tho he looks like a red head even chubbier version of Paddy McCartin). The big issue for list management is retaining Jones and Reid. McVeigh and K Jack retirements will help, but but not enough. This might mean trading Tippett at a discount where Sydney pay half of his salary for one or two years. The upside for next year are the kids and a solid midfield.
Paul D
Roar Guru
The Swans have shown they can put together some lengthy streaks in the W column in recent seasons. They were head and shoulders the second best side last year and I can't see them missing the 8 from here
Horrie
Guest
Yes, it was an encouraging win. Newman proved last week was no flash in the pan. He uses the ball well and makes sound decisions. Ramps played well but will be better as he gets more game time. The youngsters all played well with Papley really shining. He has grandfather Max's abilities but is much quicker. Joey, Hannas and Nosey P were terrific leading the mids in applying pressure on the Saints and I thought Lloyd had another good game.
Bloodsman
Guest
I love this club and have done so since 1973. I want nothing but sustained success. But every match is hard won and we need to keep on winning now. Signs look good though.
Swannies
Guest
Yep...swans are back and I'm loving it ! On track for finals after a little hiccup. Back where we belong soon...at the top!